Dreams of Tomorrow
by SnowySilence
Summary: Inuyasha and the gang help a demon escape death, but why would a powerful demon need help in the first place?


Part 1  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kagome sighed. She hated when Inuyasha acted like this. He was pouting because Kouga had come sweeping by. That was always enough to get Inuyasha in a bad mood, but Kouga wouldn't settle for anything less than torturing Inuyasha with hints of taking Kagome away. Inuyasha had yelled at Kagome and told her she could go home for all he cared. But this time, Kagome didn't fight back. She had calmly told Inuyasha that if that's how he felt, that he should say it again and she would go back home; that she was tired of him being jealous over Kouga but at the same time refused to say that he cared for her and insisted the Kikyou came first. After that, Inuyasha had nothing to say and refused to even look at her.  
  
Miroku, Sango, and Shippou looked back and forth between their two friends. They had never seen Kagome handle Inuyasha's jealousy in such a calm manner before. They thought it had been a stroke of brilliance on her part, because it had put Inuyasha in the position that if he repeated his words, it would mean he didn't care, but if he denied his words, it meant that he did care, something they all knew Inuyasha was loath to do.  
  
But Inuyasha hadn't said a word for nearly three hours, and it was starting to worry them. Inuyasha was never this quiet for so long. He was too hot tempered to be this quiet.  
  
Inuyasha was deep in thought. Kagome hadn't yelled at him for his harsh words like every time he even commented on her shady relationship with the wolf, but instead gave him the option to send her away or to keep her close, trapping him. Yes, he was pissed. He hated this feeling of being trapped. If he said go home, she would and that would be that. If he said stay, she would have him get rid of Kikyou. Neither were options he could take.  
  
He growled low under his breath, so low no one heard it. Good thing too, for it was a growl filled with a seething rage that would have caused his friends to run as far away as they could. Damn Kagome and her tricks   
  
But thoughts of Kagome flew out of his head when he smelled blood. It wasn't human blood, but the smell of a pure demon's. Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, his ears focused for any sound out of the ordinary, his eyes scanning for any signs of danger, and his nose inhaling deeply, trying to find the direction the reek of blood was coming from.  
  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome stopped. It wasn't like Inuyasha to just stop like that, not unless there was trouble.  
  
"Blood. A demon's been injured. But it's not dead yet. There is no stench of death." There was something faintly different about the smell, though. Almost like it wasn't a demon at all. Which made no sense. Inuyasha headed in the direction the smell was coming from. This scent was really getting to him. He had to go and help the demon. Inuyasha broke out into a full run, leaving the others to catch up with him.  
  
Inuyasha's feet touched the dewy grass as he landed in front of the demon who's blood he had smelled. The sight that greeted him brought up revulsion, anger, and shock. His comrades landed next to him, and he could here the gasps of surprise as they saw what was before them.  
  
Laying on the ground was the demon. He had long blue hair that was matted with blood. His head was down so they couldn't see his face, but he appeared to be trying to raise himself off the ground, but his wounds were to grievous. His white Kimono was soaked in blood, and there were tears in the garment, revealing deep gashes underneath on his back and legs. They could hear him gasping for air, but he was choking on blood. With every gasp, he would choke and blood would escape from his mouth.  
  
Standing behind the injured demon, stood a tall red and gold haired demon. His eyes were just as red as his hair and both looked like fire. His face held no sympathy for the injured demon as he held the whip that had inflicted the damage. His skin was a pale ivory and he wore a red kimono laced with gold that matched his hair and eyes.  
  
The red haired demon took no notice of the new arrivals as he looked down and contemplated the blue haired demon before him. He tapped the whip against his lips, a smile beginning to cross his face. "I think you shall die. But don't think it will be quick. You will suffer dearly for making me chase you for so long. I believe that I will enjoy you for a while yet."  
  
The demon raised the whip high over his head and snapped it, aiming for the demon laying before him. The whip made contact with flesh, but it was Inuyasha's arm that took the blow, for he had leapt in front of the demon and held out his arm, so that the whip would hit him instead. The fiery demon looked at Inuyasha with not surprise but anger.  
  
"How dare you interrupt me. You and the filth behind you will suffer for this."  
  
Sango glared at the demon. She leaned over the injured man and helped Kagome turn him on his side to help ease his breathing. She eyed the red demon again. Realization took hold as she watched him. "Inuyasha, that's a demon hunter."  
  
"And that means?" Inuyasha gave her an irritated look.  
  
"That means he's a very powerful demon that tracks rare and powerful demons that are valuable to others. He gets paid to hunt down and capture demons. He's very dangerous Inuyasha. Be careful."  
  
"Listen to the girl. I have nothing to gain from you, so I will let you go for now. At least until I have my fill of the gem I've caught here. Then I will come for you. Count your blessings I don't kill you now."  
  
"Not a chance. What's this guy done that you'd beat him near to death? He can't be worth much if he's dead."  
  
"That is correct, but I don't have to explain myself to you, vermin."  
  
Miroku moved to look at the injured demon. He was unconscious now. His face was was covered in blood, so it was impossible to tell what the man looked like. "Kagome, he needs some help and quickly." Miroku said this softly. He moved and stood next to Inuyasha. "Trust me, you don't want to fight us. Even a powerful demon like yourself must have heard of the Shikon no Tama. And the party that hunts for it. We're that party, and we have no qualms in helping a demon by destroying another." Miroku gripped the prayer beads around his wrist and prepared to release his wind tunnel.  
  
The fiery demon eyed Miroku a moment, then let his eyes travel to each member of the party. It would be nothing to end their lives, but they were all prepared to fight. So if he took out two or three, the remaining members would attack with their powerful gift and he would lose. He was not willing to take that risk just yet.  
  
"Very well. Keep him. I will return for him soon so do not think that you have won." The demon turned his back to the party and without another word, disappeared from sight.  
  
"Coward." Inuyasha snorted and turned back to his friends. He watched as Kagome worked her powers over the injured demon, but they didn't help much. "I think we should move him to somewhere safe."  
  
The others agreed and without another word they moved the unconscious man onto Kilala's back. Quickly, they moved through the land, searching for any signs of shelter. Soon they came upon a small shrine, embedded into a cliff wall.  
  
Miroku led the way into the shrine, calling out for anyone that tended the shrine, but he receive no reply. Kagome swiftly searched the rooms one by one until she found one with a bed.  
  
"Inuyasha, can you bring him over here? I found a bed he can sleep in." Kagome moved out of the way as Inuyasha led Kilala through the doorway. Inuyasha lifted the limp man and deposited him gently onto the small bed. He left without a word.  
  
Kagome didn't notice Inuyasha's behavior as she tended to the demon's injuries. She stripped off his kimono, taking only a moment to register how beautiful he would have been if the injuries were gone. Swiftly, she disinfected each slice, rip and tear on his body and then wrapped each one in gauss. She cleaned him up from head to toe, rinsing all the blood off, and washing him. When she was done, he look more like he was sleeping peacefully, rather than near death.  
  
Kagome smiled at him, sincerely wishing this man, whose beauty far outstripped Sesshoumaru, would recover quickly. Kagome watched him sleep before she stood up. Kagome called Sango in to sit with there new ward, then began to search the shrine for anything else that would be useful.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Okay, I know, I have about 6 stories (that's including the 2 stories that I can't post here) that I need to finish, but hey, I've met (via email) the most talented artist! Yana has drawn beautiful artwork, and one inspired this fic! ^_^ When I get farther into the story, and depending on the reviews, I'll add a link to her site, and the name of the pic, so you can look at it and decide if I did the characters justice. LoL Please R/R!!! ~_~ 


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